Adhika Maas (अधिक मास) or the extra month as it is called is actually just an adjustment in our calendar so that it runs more perfectly. Just like our present international calendar (the Gregorian calendar) has leap years for the technical fine tuning of the years' time period, we have the Adhik mās.
When I was first got to know about all these hitherto useless complexities in an otherwise streamlined calendar, 'leap year' and 'adhik mās' were quite up in the list of things I hated about life. Why should these 'extra' months and days exist? Can't the astrologists and calendar makers just do it all systematically and in order just once? But as I understood them much more properly, I thoroughly flipped my opinion.
Now I will try to enlighten my readers with the science behind the adhik mās and also try to convince them why #adhikmaasisawesome! If you think the same way about the anomalies in our calendar, this is a must read for you. Or if you know about the leap year but not about the adhika mās, it is even more important that you read this.
The indian calendar is primarily based on the cycles of the Moon (phases of moon). It takes around 29.5 days for the moon to complete one whole cycle of waxing and waning. Thus a lunar month is of 29.5 days only.
We know a year has 12 months even in the Indian calendar. So 12 lunar months will make up an Indian year or 354 days will make up an IndianYear.
Here's the math,
Now this was all for the Indian calendar. Remember I told you to forget the English calendar for a while? Now recall it. The English calendar, the present calendar in use globally, has 365 days in one year. This is because it takes the Earth around 365 days to complete one revolution around the Sun.
In short:
Now a new doubt may come to your mind. The British introduced the Gregorian calendar to the Indian subcontinent, so does that mean there were no Adhik mās before that? Logically speaking, an Adhik maas just corrects the gap between an Indian year and a Gregorian year, doesn't it?
Well.. yes and no..
Here's why.
The Gregorian Calendar works only on the Solar cycles. It totally Ignores the Lunar Cycles.
As I made it very clear, Indian calendar works in such a way that it has to take into account both the Sun and the Moon. It is pretty clear that if a single calendar can incorporate the cycles of the Sun and the Moon in itself, it has to be the most precise. The Indian calendar takes the best from both the systems like this.
Hence, the Indian calendar independently keeps track of the Solar and the Lunar Cycles. Even if there were no Gregorian Calendar. So Adhik mās is a requirement irrespective of whether or not a Solar only calendar like the Gregorian Calendar exists. So Adhik mās was there even before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by the British. Adhik mās was there since the inception of the present form of Indian calendar system itself!
I hope to have made you clear, the logic of Adhik mās.
In the part two of this Adhik mās blog series, I will talk about how it affects us, as pushtimargiya vaishnavs. What changes should we do in our lifestyle during Adhik Mās and also how seva prakār changes.
The Adhik mās is that important correction which prevents time tracking from going haywire. It is that key which lets the sun and the moon run in harmony. Without Adhik mās, it would be impossible to run a calendar where both the sun and the moon can be taken into account.
So tell me now in the comments below! #Adhikmaasisawesome, do you agree?
The science behind Adhik mās
Once, in every three years an extra month or Adhika Mās takes place. In the hindu calendar, Adhik mās will take place this year, (greg. - 2015; वि. सं. २०७२) on the 18th of June. This adhika mās is known as Adhik Ashad Maas, because it falls before Ashad mās. It is a convention to name the Adhik month the same as the regular month following the Adhik mās.
In my previous blog post, I talked about the Indian calendar. I like talking about the Indian calendar not just because it is Indian. It is also a display of the technical understanding of the heavenly bodies our sages had at that time. The indian calendar is a masterpiece of timekeeping skills. This is because, unlike the gregorian calendar, which only keeps track of the Sun's place in the sky while totally ignoring the moon, the Indian calendar system takes into account the positions of both the Sun and the Moon. It is a complex system which tracks the positions of both of these heavenly bodies and concludes days (तिथि - tithi) , phases of the moon (पक्ष - paksha), months (मास - maas) & years (वर्ष - varsh).
Well actually there are so many more units of time measurement based on lots of different observations from around the universe. Here is a list of all the divisions of time our shastras have revealed to us. (link to be added soon) Just a teaser, the list is very, very long, so long that it units of time start becoming units of space-time!Why am I explaining about the role of the Sun and the Moon in our calendar? It is because this interplay between the Sun and the Moon are the primary cause of Adhik mās.
Before you start reading further, for a moment forget anything you know of the current english calendar because it is solar based. You must not confuse the english months with indian months to be able to understand the explanation given below.
The indian calendar is primarily based on the cycles of the Moon (phases of moon). It takes around 29.5 days for the moon to complete one whole cycle of waxing and waning. Thus a lunar month is of 29.5 days only.
 |
| How an Indian Lunar Month works |
We know a year has 12 months even in the Indian calendar. So 12 lunar months will make up an Indian year or 354 days will make up an IndianYear.
Here's the math,
One lunar month = 29.5 days
Since one year has 12 months,
12 lunar months = 29.5 x 12 = 354 days
Or simply put,
One year = 354 daysNot too hard, isn't it?
Now this was all for the Indian calendar. Remember I told you to forget the English calendar for a while? Now recall it. The English calendar, the present calendar in use globally, has 365 days in one year. This is because it takes the Earth around 365 days to complete one revolution around the Sun.
 |
| The Solar Year (English / Gregorian Year) |
In short:
One Lunar Year (Indian Year) = 354 daysIt is quite clear that there is a difference of 11 days between the two years. The Lunar year is 11 days short of the Solar year. As years go by, this gap increases by 11 days every new year. In three solar years, the the Lunar year is roughly 33 days behind the Solar year. To match the two cycles again, an Adhik mās is added in this year so that the 'lag' between the two systems can be rectified. Pretty awesome how Adhik mās works isn't it?
One Solar Year (Grego. Year) = 365 days
Now a new doubt may come to your mind. The British introduced the Gregorian calendar to the Indian subcontinent, so does that mean there were no Adhik mās before that? Logically speaking, an Adhik maas just corrects the gap between an Indian year and a Gregorian year, doesn't it?
Well.. yes and no..
Here's why.
The Gregorian Calendar works only on the Solar cycles. It totally Ignores the Lunar Cycles.
As I made it very clear, Indian calendar works in such a way that it has to take into account both the Sun and the Moon. It is pretty clear that if a single calendar can incorporate the cycles of the Sun and the Moon in itself, it has to be the most precise. The Indian calendar takes the best from both the systems like this.
The Solar Cycle
The solar cycles are important because they are the actual real cycles! The earth does not complete one revolution around the Sun in one lunar Year or 354 days, it actually takes 365 days for that. So the true year is of 365 days only. It is important to record and maintain this cycle because the seasons are based off this cycle. However, once you start dividing the year into units smaller than seasons, there is no natural cue for us which can mark the progress of time. Here, the importance of the Lunar cycle kicks in!
The Lunar Cycle
The Lunar cycles are important because you don't have to manually keep a track of which day of the month you are in every day. You can simply look at the position of the moon and know which day of the lunar month it is! So easy! Just a glance at the night and nothing more. So it clearly makes sense to use Lunar months instead of the arbitrarily decided Solar months of 30 or 31 days each.
Hence, the Indian calendar independently keeps track of the Solar and the Lunar Cycles. Even if there were no Gregorian Calendar. So Adhik mās is a requirement irrespective of whether or not a Solar only calendar like the Gregorian Calendar exists. So Adhik mās was there even before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by the British. Adhik mās was there since the inception of the present form of Indian calendar system itself!
I hope to have made you clear, the logic of Adhik mās.
In the part two of this Adhik mās blog series, I will talk about how it affects us, as pushtimargiya vaishnavs. What changes should we do in our lifestyle during Adhik Mās and also how seva prakār changes.
The Adhik mās is that important correction which prevents time tracking from going haywire. It is that key which lets the sun and the moon run in harmony. Without Adhik mās, it would be impossible to run a calendar where both the sun and the moon can be taken into account.
So tell me now in the comments below! #Adhikmaasisawesome, do you agree?
